The present invention relates in general to gaming devices, and more particularly to gaming devices that randomly displays symbol stacks.
Gaming device manufacturers produce many different types of slot machines employing a plurality of reels which each have a plurality of symbols. When the player places a wager which causes the reels to spin, the slot machine produces a random generation of a combination of the symbols on the reels. If the generated combination or a portion of the combination matches one of a number of predetermined award producing or winning combinations, the player receives an award. The award is commonly one or more credits that the player can play or redeem for money.
To increase player enjoyment and excitement, and to increase the popularity of the gaming machines, gaming device manufacturers constantly strive to provide players with new features that add to the excitement and enjoyment generated by the gaming device. One element of gaming devices that receives considerable attention from the game designer is the displayed symbols. The generated symbols are the player's primary focus during the game because the symbols determine the player's outcome.
The symbols are often chosen to reflect the theme of the gaming device. The symbols typically have indicia that is interesting. To date, however, gaming devices have presented the symbols to the player via established techniques. For example, the symbols are on and thus move with the reels until the reels come to rest and display a portion of the reel strip to the player, which is typically three symbols from each reel strip. While players have become accustomed to these techniques, it is believed that adding variety to the standard techniques of symbol generation and display in gaming devices is desirable. Accordingly, a need exists for a different and exciting way to provide and present symbols to a player.